Part 5 (1/2)

Yeah, one with s.h.i.+ny bra.s.s b.u.t.tons on it that I would have recognized anywhere.

”YOU DON'T ACTUALLY think I had something to do with some guy who got murdered, do you?”

Kaz looked at me when he asked the question. He would have been better served to keep his eyes on Nev. After all, Nev was the one leaning against the far wall of the hotel's security office, writing down every word Kaz said.

Nev's eagle-eye gaze didn't flicker away from Kaz for a second. ”So you admit that's your suit jacket in the linen room with the victim?” Nevin asked.

Kaz ran his tongue over his lips. ”Well, yeah. It was in the linen room, all right. But not in the linen room with the victim. At least last time I saw the jacket. Last I was in that room, there was no victim. Just towels and such.”

Nev made note of this, too.

While Nev was busy, Kaz smoothed one hand through his hair. It was a gesture I'd seen him use before, mostly when he was nervous about telling me he'd lost some sure bet. I can't say I felt sorry for him. I can say I was glad Kaz had the sense to be worried. ”This cop boyfriend of yours...” Kaz lowered his voice and tipped his head toward Nev. ”He doesn't really think-”

”That it's pretty funny that your jacket just happened to be at the scene of a murder you claim you don't know anything about? He sure does.” I made a mental note: Nev has really good hearing. No doubt the ease of Nev's movements had come with long practice. He crossed the security office, whirled a chair so that when he sat in it he was facing Kaz, and gave my ex a level look. ”When you think about it, you've got to admit it's more odd than funny.”

”It is.” Kaz had loosened his black bow tie soon after two plainclothes detectives had plucked him out of the banquet and walked him into the office. Now, he played with the ends of it. It was a fidgety thing for a guy who is usually all about cool, calm, and collected, and just watching him, my stomach jumped.

It clenched into a painful ball when Nev asked the next logical question. ”You want to explain?”

”I do.” Hearing those two particular words from Kaz did nothing to calm me. I'd been sitting at a desk flanked by monitors that showed the goings-on in the lobby, the hotel gift shop, and the loading dock behind the building, and I stood and paced to the other side of the room. When I turned around, Kaz's eyes were still on me. ”It's kind of embarra.s.sing,” he said.

Believe me, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to throw my hands in the air and tell him it couldn't possibly be. Over the years, Kaz had done so many boneheaded and heartless things, adding another one to the list shouldn't have been a stretch.

Which made me wonder why this incident in particular was so different.

And that only made me more jumpy than ever.

I held my breath and watched Kaz twine his hands together on his lap. ”I kind of need a place to stay,” he said. ”Just for a little while.”

”That's why you went around to my apartment the other day!” OK, so raising an arm and pointing a finger at Kaz was a tad overdramatic. It's not like he didn't deserve it. ”You were going to ask me if you could crash at my place. That's why you're being so nice to me here at the conference, too. Pretending to be my a.s.sistant and picking up Thad at the airport, and-”

”Did you? Pick up Mr. Wyant from the airport?”

This was one little detail Nev knew nothing about, and I had to give him credit. He stuck to his guns (no pun intended) and did his objective homicide detective best to ignore the current of emotion that s.h.i.+vered between me and Kaz like the electrical charge that builds before a thunderstorm. ”Was that the first you ever met the victim?”

”Sure.” Kaz nodded. ”You don't think I hang around with this b.u.t.ton crowd, do you? I mean, except for Jo. And Jo was there, too. At the airport, I mean. She'll tell you. It's not like I knew this Wyant guy or anything. It's not like I even cared. I was just trying to... you know, help Jo out.”

”So I'd invite you to stay in my hotel room with me.”

This came out sounding far more personal than I'd intended, but once I'd spoken, it was too late to call the words back. I couldn't do anything about the heat that shot into my cheeks, either.

Kaz's shoulders should have drooped. I mean, anybody else in this situation would have had the brains to look remorseful. Instead, he pulled his shoulders back, and his eyes glinted.

”I knew you'd cave sooner or later,” he said, proving once again that he'd never gotten to know me very well in the three years we'd been married or the year since we'd gotten divorced. ”Last night I didn't know what else to do so I hung out in the bar and the lobby for as long as I could, and then... Well, I just sort of wandered around until I found my way down to that linen room.”

”And what, got cleaned up in one of the was.h.i.+ng machines?”

I don't do sarcasm well, which might explain why both Nev and Kaz looked at me like I had begun speaking in some foreign tongue. That is, right before Kaz shrugged. ”You brought your briefcase down to the registration table this morning, and your room key was in it and-”

”You broke into my hotel room?”

”Well, technically, I had a key, and-”

The stress of the last hour exploded in me and I swung toward Nev. ”You can arrest him, right? You heard what he said. He said-”

”I needed a place to clean up,” Kaz admitted. ”And I figured you wouldn't mind, Jo.”

A memory clicked inside my brain. ”You moved my comb!”

”Dang! Did I? I hate it when I'm careless. I used it, see, and I meant to put it back. I just...” Like one twitch of those broad shoulders was supposed to explain? ”Housekeeping knocked, and I figured I should get out of there as soon as I could. You know, before they noticed anything weird.”

My hands curled into fists, I stepped toward Kaz.

Lucky thing, cooler heads prevailed. And that the cool head belonged to Nev. ”We'll sort all that out later,” he said. ”For now-”

His cell phone rang.

Nev checked the caller ID, excused himself, and stepped out of the office.

”Sorry.”

”Don't even try.” I shot Kaz a look. ”You've never been sorry in your life, and you're sure not sorry now. You've been playing Mr. Nice Guy just so I'd let you stay with me. And you broke into my hotel room.”

”You gonna press charges?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. ”It would serve you right if I did.”

A smile s.h.i.+vered at the corners of his mouth. ”But you won't.”

”I should.”

”But-”

Now, Kaz's cell rang. He answered, and that hopeful little s.h.i.+mmer in his eyes dissolved in an instant. ”Amber! It's great to hear from you.” Kaz turned his back and continued his conversation. ”No, it's like I said; I'm in Paris, and I won't be home for at least a few more days. You understand, don't you?” He listened for the s.p.a.ce of a heartbeat. ”I knew you would. I'll call. Really. It's just that I have to catch the Metro now and-”

With that, he hung up.

”I can explain,” he said.

I knew he was talking about the phone call, not about why his blazer was at the scene of a crime. I held up a hand to stop him. ”I don't want to hear it.”

”But-”

”And really, I don't care.”

It was nice of Nev to walk back into the room so I didn't have to prove it.